


Unintended

by AuroraRose2081



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27885901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraRose2081/pseuds/AuroraRose2081
Summary: Mal and Audrey are suffering from unintended consequences regarding their duel a few months prior, and it’s up to Evie to try and sort it all out before something bad happens...again.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. Audrey

She falls out of a tree and scares Evie half to death. A flash of pink, purple and brown accompanied by a symphony of noise. The rustle of leaves, the cracking of branches under unsteady hands, a solid thud as a body makes contact with the earth. And finally a long, drawn out groan of discomfort as she lays where she fell. 

“Audrey?” 

It’s not the person Evie expects to see. Actually, Audrey Rose was the last person she’d ever think would fall out of a tree the morning before their Senior year was set to begin. The Princess sat up with a wince, and Evie was struck dumb at how different she looked. 

After her bout with Maleficent’s scepter, interactions between all of the VK’s and Audrey had been strange. There was never much talking involved, just a lot of weary looks, some tears on Audrey’s behalf and awkward words from Mal who was still mediocre in the ‘comforting’ department. Audrey’s Grammy whisked her away to Auroria not long after the barrier was brought down, and Evie hadn’t seen much of the Princess since. 

Now she was sprawled in the dirt and weeds, holding a hand to her head with a cut right across the front of her face. Her hair was still pale blonde at its ends, delicately curled as it always was, but was growing (not dyed) a furious magenta-blue shade at the roots. It reminded Evie of Mal’s natural hair color. A dark eggplant (thanks Freddie) of a color that was very unique to Mal. Last Evie checked, Audrey’s hair did not grow in color, but rather a chocolate brunette. How strange. 

“Are you ok?” 

It took a bit longer to ask the question then she would have liked as Evie hurried the rest of the way up the hill towards the fallen Princess. She looked a bit dazed, and was cursing the earth as it spun, but otherwise appeared fine, “here, you’re bleeding a bit.” 

Whipping out a blue handkerchief from her jeans, Evie passed it to Audrey who accepted it with a light nod. 

“ouch.” 

Staring into the girls face up close, her once marble eyes were now tinted a dark emerald green. If Evie had not seen Audrey’s eyes before now, knowing how dark (near black) they could be, she almost wouldn’t have noticed the shade shift. It was mesmerizing for a moment, and Evie felt more confusion well in her gut. Audrey was still very clearly herself, lightly dabbing at her face to avoid messing up her foundation, but while Mal had gotten three shades brighter over the Summer (her Summer of love), Audrey had gone three shades darker. 

“You look...different.” Evie blabbered without thinking, wanting to hit herself for speaking aloud as Audrey stilled. There was something in her expression that Evie couldn’t quite decipher before she merely nodded and smiled (though it didn’t reach her newly green eyes). 

“Thanks? I think.” Furrowing dark brows, Audrey shook her head from side to side as she finished with the handkerchief and crumpled it into a palm, “I’ll wash this for you.” 

“Keep it,” Evie mumbled, rising to stand as she extended a hand for Audrey to take, “here, let’s make sure you didn’t break anything.” 

Seeming to hesitate for a moment, Audrey looked between Evie and her outstretched palm before accepting the invitation. It was a momentary spark between their hands, a tickle of static only Mal had ever caused. It startled Evie, though she was careful not to show it. When their skin was no longer touching, Audrey began to dust off her darker pink dress as the bluenette focused on her fingers. The tingle was there for only a moment before it faded, like a shock caused by friction between two objects. 

She’d touched Audrey before, bumped her usually in the halls by accident (or on purpose, before the girl became less of a brat). But the literal ‘shock value’ was new. There was a lot about Audrey that seemed to be new since last year. 

“I think I’m ok. Thanks for checking.” Audrey spoke up, drawing Evie’s attention back onto her, “are you ok?” 

“What?” Audrey was looking at her confusedly as Evie nodded, “Oh, yes absolutely. I just...sorry, you just look so different.” 

It wasn’t exactly a lie. Audrey shuffled in the heeled boots she wore, tapping a toe against the dust. 

“Erm...yeah. It’s been kinda a long summer.” 

Not providing any more information about what exactly happened over the summer, Audrey merely turned to pick up something that had fallen with her from the tree. The journal was small, and decorated in Audrey’s signature shade (or past signature shade) of powder pink. 

“What exactly were you doing up there?” Evie asked curiously. She expected Audrey to huff and not answer, but the girl merely smiled half heartedly and opened the pages of the journal. This revealed a very unique looking flower that reminded Evie of a ripe apple, pressed between two pages. 

“It’s called a Rosa Andragoria. Very rare, especially here in Auradon. They are isolated flowers, and usually grow alone. They bloom once every five years.” Audrey explained lightly, “I just happened to see it while I was walking this way earlier. I didn’t think anyone else would come up this far.” 

“Wow, it’s beautiful.” 

“Isn’t it?” Closing her journal, Evie caught sight of many more flowers as well as plenty of writing within the pages as Audrey tucked it back at her side, “so, Evie, what are you doing walking out here? I would think you’d be with their majesties or something.” 

Evie didn’t miss the strain in Audrey’s voice; the small wince she made. But her ruffled features smoothed out as quickly as they had appeared; years of Princess training put to work to hide whatever was going on in her mind. Evie herself had never mastered this trick of the trade; she wore her heart on her sleeve no matter how stoic she tried to be. Mal was always able to beat her out at poker. 

“Ben and Mal are at the school already. There’s going to be a larger number of Isle kids transferring in this year, so there’s a lot of work to be done.” 

Audrey was surpassing all expectations Evie had of her today. Once upon a time the Princess would have sneered at the mere idea of more VK’s attending Auradon Prep. She was never afraid to voice her distaste of convergence with the Isle. But she merely nodded, not even a hint of distain on her face. 

“That’s great, I’m sure they’ll do well. Is Remedial Goodness still a thing?” 

“Yes. But we renamed it to Ethics of Auradon. A little less...condescending, that way.” 

“Hm. So, you told me what Ben and Mal are doing. But you still haven’t answered my question,” tipping her head to one side, Audrey merely lifted a brow, “what are you doing up here?” 

“I was...er, thinking I guess.” It wasn’t the full truth. Evie had come here to think about a few things, the main thing being her relationship with Doug. 

Sure it had seemed like true love right out of the gate, and her kiss had even broke his Sleeping curse. But, as Jay had said once, true love doesn’t always go both ways. She was Doug’s true love, but Evie wasn’t sure if he was hers. 

“Guess I hit something sensitive.” Audrey mused with a dry chuckle, “sorry I asked.” 

“No, it’s alright. Just, school jitters I suppose. Senior year; our last. It’s a bit hard to imagine just a few years ago we were here to...” steal the magic wand and destroy your livelihoods. Evie didn’t say that part out loud, not forgetting the Princess she was standing next to on the ridge, “make trouble. It’s kinda a big deal.” 

“Right. A big deal.” Audrey’s agreement didn’t seem entirely heartfelt as she tucked a magenta lock of hair behind her...ear. Thrice pierced? When did that happen? “I dunno if I’m going to miss this place. So much drama.” 

Shaking her head from side to side, Evie found herself frowning. She hadn’t actually looked at Audrey for longer then a minute before the Summer began. She always seemed so put together, even after she nearly died due to the ember. But now, really looking at her for the first time, Audrey Rose seemed so...lost. Her face was pulled into a constant look of wistful pensiveness, and the hand not holding her journal was clenching and unclenching like she was nervous.

Over the Summer, Mal had grown into this bright, glowing ball of goodness and justice. It was so opposite what she had been on the Isle of the Lost that Evie wasn’t sure she was even looking at the same person. She loved Mal as a best friend, and was glad she had come around to doing the right thing. But at the same time, Mal wasn’t quite...Mal, anymore. 

Audrey on the other hand had spiraled fast and hard, thrown from her heavenly perch to earth where she made a crater. From confidant and arrogant, to quiet and unsure. It was as though that piece of Mal which made her an Isle kid had been passed into this Princess, while Audrey’s gleaming light had been ripped ungracefully from her being and gifted to Mal. It was weird to visualize, and Evie had to shake the vision away before it stuck. 

“Sorry, I’m so lost in my own thoughts today...Audrey?” 

The girl was gone, an empty ridge left where she had been previously standing. Evie could smell a hint of sulfur in the air, but waved it off as something natural as she turned to look for where Audrey had gone. As she did this, the bluenette jumped as a familiar black sedan tumbled up the road before screeching to a halt in the dirt. Coughing as she was engulfed by the cloud, Evie frowned at Carlos and Jay. “Guys *cough* what the hell are you doing here?” 

“Jane said you’d walked this way,” Carlos insisted, “we’ve got a situation.” 

“A situation?” Evie questioned, hurrying to the car as Jay nodded his head. 

“It’s a Mal related situation.” 

“Isn’t it always?” Evie groaned, rolling her eyes as she slipped into the back seat and slammed the door. Jay hit the reverse as they swung around on the road. Feeling the hairs prickle on the back of her neck, Evie turned back around to face where she had just been standing. Audrey was standing by the tree again, looking up at where she had fallen from. But as they got further away, Evie swore a cloud of familiar pink smoke engulfed her, leaving only emptiness behind. 

What. The. Hell?


	2. Power Switch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal’s panicking. Jane’s decorating. And Audrey has magic...wait, what?

“I can’t feel my powers anymore.” 

Mal was a mess; more then usual anyway. Evie wasn’t even two steps into Ben’s office before Mal was there, panic written clear as day on her face, “E, my powers. I can’t...I don’t know what happened.”

“Calm down, Mal. What do you mean you can’t feel your powers?” 

“They just aren’t there. Look.” Snapping pale fingers, such an action would usually produce a green spark. But nothing came of it as Evie’s brows furrowed. 

“Do you...feel any different?” 

“Of course I feel different! My powers are gone!” 

“Not that way, Mal. Focus.” Forcing her hands down upon the future queen’s shoulders, Evie noticed the lack of...well, magic. There was something which happened between magic users — a feeling which passed between one to another. Evie didn’t have much in the way of magic, but her mother was still a witch. Hence, when she and Mal touched, there was a literal spark. Same if Evie and Jane touched, or if she happened to cross paths with Freddie or Jordan. But there was nothing now, just skin on blouse, “you had your powers yesterday?” 

“I mean, yeah. They felt a little weak but I thought I was just tired...” 

“And now you don’t have them?” Evie confirmed. Mal just nodded her head frantically. Seeing her unhinged in such a way made Evie’s heart go out to her as she pulled Mal into a hug. Her magic was everything to her since leaving the Isle of the Lost, and now that was (for whatever reason), gone. 

“Ben, when did she first notice her powers were missing?” 

“Uh, about an hour ago? During our meeting with Fairy Godmother.” The King answered, leaning not-so-casually against his desk as he bounced a leg. 

“Ok, and was she acting any different before then?” 

“Not really. A little tired maybe, antsy, but you know Mal and how she can’t sit still for to long.” Ben answered with a shrug, running a hand through his hair as he fiddled with his lapels, “Fairy Godmother is already doing some research.” 

“Ok. And no one else here feels any different?” Evie asked, glancing at the three boys as they shook their heads negatively, “alright, that’s ok at least.” Releasing Mal from her hug, the purple haired dragoness seemed to be feeling a bit better as Evie squeezed her shoulder, “don’t worry, we’ll figure this out. It must be some other type of magic. A spell maybe.” 

“It was just so sudden, I kinda flipped out.” Mal admitted, “I think I’m ok now. It’ll just be like it was back on the isle, right? No magic?” 

“No magic. At least for a bit.” Evie confirmed, nudging Mal back to Ben who gladly gave her another hug as Evie thumbed her bottom lip. First Audrey, now this? It was turning out to be a weird day so far, “I think I’m going to go talk to Jane real fast.” 

“She’s out helping with the decorations.” Carlos provided, Evie merely waving a hand in recognition of the directions as she left Ben’s office. The sun was hot and bright outside as Evie left the school, standing at the top of alabaster steps as a breeze ruffled her skirt. 

“Evie!” 

Turning slightly, Jane appeared from behind a neat box hedge as she grinned, “looking for me? Carlos said he was looking for you.” 

“Yes. You’re just the person I was looking for,” 

Galloping down the steps in her heels, Evie slipped behind the hedge where Jane was...hiding? “What are you doing?” 

“Oh, you know...decorating.” 

Her high pitched squeak gave away her bad lie as Evie lifted a brow and the girl groaned in defeat, “ok, ok. I saw Audrey and I hid.” 

“Jane, she’s not dangerous anymore.” 

“I know. But...well, I’m still a bit nervous around her. That’s all.” 

“I suppose I can’t really blame you,” Evie admitted with a hard sigh, glancing up over the top of the hedge where Jane had been looking, “there she is.” 

Audrey was standing a ways away, near the front wall. She looked nervous about something, pacing the short length from tree to tree, “what is she doing?” 

“I’m not sure. She wasn’t supposed to be here till tomorrow.” Jane admitted, curling a piece of dark hair around her finger as she leaned on the top of the bush to watch, “someone’s coming. Duck.” 

Pulling Evie down, someone ran past their bush in the direction of where Audrey was standing. Peeking out slowly again, the running figure was none other then Chad Charming, his long blonde hair straightened and pulled back into a ponytail which laid across his neck. 

“Chad? That’s weird, he’s been at Hero Camp the whole summer and wasn’t supposed to be back till tomorrow either.” 

“I didn’t think they were still together.” Evie mused, watching Audrey turn to address the young Prince as he approached her. As Chad had been an absolute mess at the end of last year, Evie wasn’t sure whether he and Audrey had stayed a couple. She did lock him in a closet while wielding the scepter, after all. Apparently though they had made up, as Chad gladly engulfed the girl in a huge hug. But when she ruffled his hair in return, Evie gasped, “oh no. The friendly hair ruffle? They must have broken up.” 

“Is that a thing?” 

“Of course. Friendly hair ruffling means you’re deep in the ‘friend-zone’. So they aren’t a couple.” 

“Looks like really good friends, then.” Jane nodded, watching the two royals standing in the shade of the trees. Audrey seemed to be hysterical about something, speaking in rapid fire phrases as Chad held his hands on her shoulders, not dissimilar to how Evie had been holding Mal a few moments before. Apparently Chad was the logical one in the conversation, as he halted Audrey’s speech with gentle words of his own. 

This made Audrey hold both hands to her face in frustration, her pink hair bobbing against her shoulders as she groaned with her whole body. 

“I wonder what’s wrong.” Jane queried, “I known Audrey is dramatic, but not this dramatic.”

Watching the pair curiously Chad said something else, making a waving motion with his hand. Evie’s heart stilled as Audrey shrugged and snapped her fingers together. Having seen the trick before with Mal, the same which she had tried to do earlier but with no result, Audrey’s snap created a fantastic display of pinkish purple sparkles, “oh my gods...” 

“That’s not possible.” Jane croaked out beside her, hazel eyes gone wide in surprise as Audrey once again held her hands to her face and began to cry, comforted by Chad as he pulled her to his chest, “...that’s magic. I saw it.” 

“It can’t be...” yet it made so much sense. The spark when Evie touched Audrey’s hand, her strange eyes, her new hair color. It all pointed to a magic user; magic like Mal’s. And if her tears didn’t give away how she felt about her new powers, then Evie didn’t know how else to explain it, “Audrey’s got Mal’s powers.” 

“What?” 

Ducking back behind the hedge for a moment, Evie ran a clawed hand through her blue hair as she bit down on her thumb, “you think Audrey stole Mal’s powers?” 

“No, not stole.” Waving away that thought quick from Jane’s mind, the young fairy looked confused as Evie began to pace, “I don’t think she knows.” 

“How could you not know?” Jane asked, “I mean, it’s kinda a hard thing to miss.” 

“She knows something’s happened to her, and she knows it’s magic. But I don’t think she knows it’s Mal’s magic that she has.” Evie tried to explain, “That’s why Carlos was looking for me earlier. Mal can’t use her powers anymore.” 

“I’ve never heard of magic being taken by one person and given to another.” Jane admitted with a shrug, “seems kinda far fetched.” 

“I...I don’t know. I’m just throwing out guesses.” Evie mumbled, pursing her lips before glancing back over the hedge. Audrey and Chad were gone now, “ok. I need to tell Mal...” 

“No! Wait.” 

Jane catching her arm, Evie’s brows popped up at Jane’s forwardness as the girl became shy again, “sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice. It’s just...I think we need to figure out what’s going on first, before we tell Mal.” 

“She deserves to know where her powers went,” Evie mumbled, knitting her brows as Jane shuffled in the grass, “Jane, what’s wrong?” 

“So you haven’t heard?” 

“Heard what?” 

“About Audrey?” Jane pushed, sighing heavily at Evie’s cluelessness as she fiddled with her dress hem, “it was decided after she went all...you know, crazy, that there needed to be some kind of punishment. So the Royal Council of Auradon stripped her title.” 

“You mean...” 

“Audrey isn’t a Princess anymore.” 

That news hit Evie like a train. Audrey, not a Princess? 

“Does Ben know about this?” 

“Well yeah, I mean he’s the King. Mal does too. They attended the hearing. I thought you knew.” 

“No. That’s terrible.” 

“Audrey took it really hard. She didn’t fight the decision or anything, but she apparently wasn’t seen outside Auroria for most of the Summer.” 

That explained a lot. Dropping to sit in the grass, Evie held a hand to her mouth. That look on Audrey’s face, her hesitance to take her hand. Everything she had ever been had been stripped away because of the mistake she had made; no wonder she looked so lost. 

“If word gets out that she somehow took Mal’s powers,” Jane continued wearily, “Ben, I know he’s reasonable, but the Council is not. I heard from Lonnie that the idea of exile was already on the table during the meetings.” 

“You mean taking away everything she ever was isn’t enough?” Evie growled, Jane merely shrugging and folding her arms. 

“There were a lot of bad feelings surrounding the whole thing, especially regarding Mal and Audrey’s relationship. Exile was King Beast’s idea, since the Isle isn’t an option anymore.” 

“How horrible.” 

“All in all, Audrey got off light. Ben fought for her; Mal too. You know how the adults are about...villains.” Jane mumbled, seeming to get caught on that word as though she wasn’t sure if it was the right one to use, “but if anyone finds out she has powers now? And Maleficent’s powers at that...” 

“There might be enough reason to exile her from Auradon entirely.” Evie concluded on her own, biting a knuckle as Jane once again nodded. 

“Yeah. I...I know Audrey and I haven’t been close for a long time. But she was still my friend once,” sitting down beside Evie, Jane sighed and looked remorseful as she plucked a few blades of grass, “I know she feels bad for what happened. Like, really bad. You know she actually apologized to me when the barrier came down? I thought I would faint I was so surprised.” 

Chuckling lightly, Evie just nodded as Jane sighed deeply again, “I’m just not really sure how I’m supposed to feel now.” 

“Everyone is capable of evil, Jane.” Evie admitted to her, “not just those from the Isle. Audrey made a mistake, and she tried to repent. It’s just sad that the Royal Council is too stuck in their ways to give her another chance.” 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Man, I feel bad now about hiding from her.” 

“Maybe you should try and start over with Audrey?” Evie suggested, “talk to her? I can’t imagine how alone she feels right now. For once I’m grateful Chad is around.” 

This caused both girls to laugh as Jane nodded in agreement and stood, helping Evie to her feet with a spark of magic buzzing across their fingertips. 

“Maybe I will. One step at a time though, right?” 

“Right. Thanks for the heads up Jane, I’ll keep you posted on what happens.” 

“Sure. I gotta finish actually decorating now. See you around.” 

Waving to the girl as she jogged around the other end of the school towards the gardens, Evie sighed heavily and ran a hand down her cheek. 

She needed to find and talk to Audrey again. Now.


	3. Girl Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie finds Audrey, and learns everything and nothing at the same time. Is that possible?

Evie found Audrey alone on the bleachers. She had Chad’s letterman jacket tossed over her shoulders, pink hair floating on the breeze as she stared out at the Tourney field. Sighing slowly and running a hand across the back of her neck, Evie’s high heels clacked against the metal stairs as she ascended. The girl didn’t look up at first, seemingly lost deep in her own thoughts. 

“Hey, Audrey?” 

Jerking back to herself, the former Princess blinked rapidly and swiveled her head. Her eyes illuminated for a moment, flickering the most brilliant of emeralds before fading back into their usual darkness. Though it was out of surprise rather then anger, there was no doubt in Evie’s mind that Audrey somehow had Mal’s abilities. Including the not so savory aspects. 

“Oh, Evie. Sorry I...I didn’t even hear you.” 

“Do you mind if I sit?” 

Waving to the empty place on the bench, Audrey shrugged slightly and moved over a bit as Evie tucked her skirt under her and sat down as elegantly as she was able, “I talked to Jane.” Evie began, not beating around the bush as Audrey looked away from her, back across the field, “She uh, told me what happened with the council.” 

“I’m surprised you didn’t already know,” Audrey admitted shallowly, “everyone else seems to. And you’re best buds with Mal and Ben, so I’m shocked they didn’t say anything.” 

“I know how much being a Princess meant to you...” 

Reaching out a hand to place on Audrey’s knee, she pulled away immediately. Her face was unreadable, but Evie could see her lips quivering under the pressure of whatever happened over the Summer. Something the former Princess clearly wasn’t ready to face yet, but was being made to anyway. 

“It’s fine. Evie, really.” Waving a hand half-heartedly, Audrey shook her head and swallowed her emotions like a handful of stones, “I don’t really want to talk about it. It’ll be bad enough once school actually starts up again. I’ll be a laughing stock.” 

Evie wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t. She could only sit beside the other girl in quiet contemplation, wondering how Audrey had it in her to hold back the floodgates. 

“So...what about you and Chad?” Evie spoke up again, trying to at least break a bit of ice as Audrey lifted a brow. 

“What about him?” 

“You’re wearing his jacket?” Evie saved herself from admitting her spying as Audrey seemed to relax a bit and nodded. 

“Oh, yeah. We aren’t a couple anymore; just friends.” 

“How’d that happen?” 

“Unlike Benjamin, Chad doesn’t exile his ex-girlfriends to no-mans land,” Audrey snipped immediately, causing Evie some puzzlement at her sudden change of mood, “sorry,” running a hand down her face, Audrey sighed tiredly, “I’m still...feeling a bit sore about it all. I’m ok.” 

Once again clenching and unclenching her fists, Audrey looked away to gather herself as Evie pursed her lips. Audrey was barely holding herself together. And Evie knew what it felt like when all you wanted to do was break down and sob, but you thought no one would care or would think of you as weak. She had plenty of moments like that right off the isle — sometimes about Mal, or Doug, or just Auradon in general. Audrey had crumbled, and been poorly pieced together over a single isolated Summer. A Summer where she not only had to stew in what’d she’d done with the Scepter, but also had her princessship torn away. 

“Chad, he was supposed to be at Hero Camp till yesterday.” Audrey croaked, rolling her shoulders back like a good Princess should to mask her internal pain, “he uh, got tonsillitis the first week in and had to go in for surgery.” 

“Oh. But he’s ok though, right?” 

The concern on Evie’s part was mostly false, after all Chad had been nothing but an arrogant prick to her in the past. But Audrey didn’t need to know as she shrugged slightly in response. 

“He’s fine. His dad has these high expectations of him being this...I dunno, this untouchable brute like Gaston was or something and it’s pretty hard on him. But Chad’s never been good with pain,” once again becoming wistful, Audrey actually smiled a bit as she returned to her hair twirling, “he didn’t want to call his mom and dad to come pick him up out of fear of disappointing them, so he called me. The last person on the planet who he thought would possibly be willing to help.” 

“And you did.” 

“Of course. I snuck the keys to my car out of my Grammy’s room and went out the window.” Audrey answered, seeming to ruffle with pride at the idea of sneaking out of her own palace in her own car, “after the surgery Chad was higher then Mount Olympus,” chuckling to herself, Audrey tapped two fingers against her cheek, getting lost in what was probably her only good memory from the Summer which was now ending, “we were friends once, like really good friends, Chad, Ben and I. We did everything together. Anyway, Chad was loose tongued so we started talking,” 

“About what?” 

Chad could barely hold a civilized conversation when he was sober, so Evie couldn’t imagine a high Chad and what topics might come about. But apparently whatever was said was enough to make Audrey misty eye’d, and Evie cursed that she didn’t have another handkerchief on her. 

“About everything.” Holding the back of her hand to her nose, Audrey finally began to crumble a bit as she sniffled from the tears which began to run down her cheeks, “I said I-I was sorry, about what I did to him. And...and he forgave me. And then we talked about our childhoods, and the things we used to do. And...and he said he wanted to be my friend still. And I know he was really high, so I thought he’d forget when he came around, but he didn’t.” 

Smiling through then mess of emotions she was, Evie felt her own heart clench as Audrey laughed weakly, “he gave me that stupid Chad Charming smile, and he said that he wanted to buy me a smoothie. The whole Summer he came and took me out when no one was watching; let me hang onto his back while he scaled the palace wall so we could get out unseen.” Audrey sniffled again, surprising Evie as she pulled out her handkerchief from earlier and wiped her face with it, “I think I would have gone crazy without him.” 

“That sounds lonely.” Evie admitted, knowing the feeling of being completely isolated from her early years on the Isle of the Lost. Those days felt like so long ago now, part of a nightmare that was behind her. “What about Jane or Lonnie?” 

“I was terrible to them both, I know I was. Queen Bitch, right here,” waving a hand at herself, Audrey shook her head again and scowled, “I didn’t want to bother them, since Jane is with Carlos now and Lonnie is doing ROAR stuff. I don’t need to bog down anyone else’s perfect life with my issues.” 

Humble. An odd look on Audrey Rose of all people. But, Evie supposed, it wasn’t 100% wanted. She had been pulled down to her lowest level upon taking the Scepter, and stayed there even after it was all said and done. She was only newly humble due to the weight of her mistakes, and the weight of others expectations of her. Even now, looking so exhausted and heavy as she did, Audrey still had the arrogant fire in her heart which had been there since the VK’s arrived in Auradon. Evie had seen it, that flicker of something whenever she brought up Mal or Ben. 

“You should really get back to their majesties,” Audrey spoke up, drawing Evie out of her thoughts, “I’m not technically supposed to be here. And I don’t think that lizards daughter would want you out here talking to me anyway.” 

“Mal doesn’t dictate who I chose to speak with,” Evie insisted with a huff of her own, Audrey’s mood seeming to have gone dark in the few minutes of quiet between them, “is there anything else you want to talk to me about?” 

Seeming to hesitate for a moment, Audrey crushed the little blue handkerchief in her hand and shook her head stubbornly. 

“Nothing you’d care for,” Audrey grumbled, sweeping herself into a standing position as her hands clutched Chad’s jacket, “bye, Evie.” 

And then she was gone, walking back down the bleachers with little less then a thank you. Evie could only watch as Chad met her on the pitch, two coffees in hand. He threw a glance in the VK’s direction, but didn’t make any motion of acknowledgment as the two ‘friends’ walked off together, vanishing around the edge of the gym building. Fingering her bottom lip with a hand, Evie felt the buzz of her phone as she flung it to her ear. 

“Hey Mal.” She greeted instinctually, “I talked to Jane already, I’m just catching some air outside.” 

Standing from the bench as Evie made her own way back towards the school, she stopped at the side gates. Chad and Audrey had found a shady place under one of the large campus trees, with a familiar periwinkle blue dress standing before them. As Evie watched, her lips tugged to a smile as Jane sat down across from them both, apparently taking her advice to start over. 

Mal’s voice on the other end of the phone drew Evie back to herself. 

“Yeah I’m here, sorry. Got distracted. So what’s this about having odd numbers...?”

____

Preparations for the coming day were hectic, and Evie felt as though she were buzzing around in circles. The amount of VK’s attending Auradon Prep was impressive, seeing as there had barely been four students previous if you wanted to count Freddie in that bunch, so Fairy Godmothers ethics class was packed wall to wall. Mal and Ben worked together helping sort out dorms, which is what they were discussing now. 

“...I don’t think we need to have single dorms.” Mal insisted, “I mean, no one needs that much space.” 

“I agree. We can have more beds shifted into the single suites to accommodate. But even then, some of the Seniors may be displaced...” running a hand across his chin, Ben was apparently missing his facial hair as he sat back with his thumbs in his pockets, frowning pensively, “oh boy.” 

“You know, I have plenty of room at the Starter Castle,” Evie chipped in gracefully. The place was awfully lonely since she and Doug stopped seeing one another, though Evie herself hadn’t actually broke the news to Mal or Ben yet about the split. The bluenette was still so unsure if it had been the right decision to spend time apart after everything they’d been through, but that wasn’t the point of the current conversation. 

“E, we couldn’t ask you to do that.” Mal complained, shaking her head as Evie waved a hand at her. 

“I really don’t mind. I have room for plenty of the Seniors to come and board, more if they were ok with doubling up.” 

“You’d be compensated for your generosity,” Ben insisted, not leaving much room for argument, “and I’d have a cooking and cleaning staff sent so you wouldn’t have to do all that work yourself.” 

“I can play dorm mother for a while,” Evie chucked, pulling a nail file out of her boot expertly as she began to play with her Apple red polish, “so, who’s staying at casa de la Evie this year?” 

“Jane and Lonnie probably wouldn’t mind,” Mal stared, “Uma and the boys. Jordan, since she doesn’t take up much space anyway...” 

“Chad,” Ben supplied, “and...I dunno,” 

“What about Audrey?” 

Her voice sounded like a bell in an empty room. Evie hadn’t thought of Audrey since earlier that day, and Ben and Mal stared at her as if she’d completely lost her mind. 

“Audrey wouldn’t do it.” Ben stated instantly, “her grandmother would have my head.” 

“I think it might be good for her, Ben,” Evie argued, “she and Chad are friends again you know. And she’s been through a lot the past few months.” 

Staring at Mal, Evie raised her brows knowingly as the dragon girl pursed her lips and held the bridge of her nose between two fingers. 

“I mean, Audrey’s suite is the largest in the school,” Mal agreed hesitantly, “we could put a foursome in there pretty easily,” 

“Well...if you think she’d go for it.” Ben grumbled, “would she have her own room?” 

“No. She can bunk with me,” Evie insisted lightly, garnering another baffled look from the King and future queen as she rolled her eyes, “what? Someone needs to keep an eye on her. I can make all the arrangements.” 

“You...do know she has some strange sleeping habits, right?” Ben winced, “there’s a reason she had her own suite.” 

“Ah, no Ben, Evie keeps weird hours too.” Mal chuckled. 

“Fashion never sleeps. So, it’s settled then. Audrey will room with me, Lonnie with Jane, Uma and Jordan, and then Harry, Gil and Chad. That should free up some space for the younger students.” Evie rattled off, “great. I’ll go and make sure the place is ready for guests.” 

“Hold on, E.” Mal intervened, grabbing the blue haired girl by the arm, “Ben, I’ll be back in a minute.” 

Whisking then both out the doors into the hall outside Ben’s office, Mal placed both hands on her hips as she leveled Evie with a look. She appeared fully recovered from her bout of magic-loss that morning, and was back to being her sturdy, prickly self, “what’s going on?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, E, that you’ve been distracted since coming back from your walk this morning.” Mal insisted, “did something happen while you were out there?” 

Damn Mal and her perceptiveness. Evie exhaled heavily and ran a hand across the back of her neck. 

“Doug and I...we broke up.” 

It was a red herring. Since meeting Audrey again up on the ridge, her issues with the Son of Dopey had been the least of her worries. But Mal didn’t know that, and her pale face crumpled upon hearing the news.

“Oh gods, E.” 

“I know, you didn’t know. I didn’t say anything, so that’s my bad.” Evie fibbed, hoping Mal didn’t notice her lack of blubbering which normally would have accompanied such a situation, “I’m really fine. Just thinking a lot.” 

“What happened? I mean, you two were like...’true love’ or whatever,” Mal insisted, marking her statement with air quotes as Evie shook her head. 

“I don’t know. One minute everything was fine, and the next...it just wasn’t love.” That at least wasn’t a lie. Evie wasn’t sure what had come between them. There was no fight, no falling out of any kind. It was all still quiet and sweet, just like they had been at the start. But Evie’s spark had been smushed, like someone came and stepped on it, “it was amiable between us. Doug isn’t staying with me anymore though. Hence, why I offered my rooms to the Seniors.” 

“You’re sure you’re alright?” Mal asked, her neat brows furrowing slightly, “I mean, I’ve never gone through a break up but...” 

“Thank you for worrying Mal, but I’ll be ok. I think playing dorm mother for a little while might be just what I need to get my mind off things.” Evie chirped happily, “now I need to go get things prepared. You’ll call later?” 

“Yeah. Later.” 

Forcing a smile and leaving Mal in the hallway, Evie jogged off around the corner before stopping for a breath. Shaking herself, she peeked back around the lockers. Mal stood outside the office for a moment, frowning pensively. But she soon retreated back when Ben summoned her from inside. Sighing deeply as the purple head disappeared, Evie once again rubbed the back of her neck. Why did things always have to be so complicated?


	4. Arrival

Evie was woken the next morning by someone knocking at her door. Roused slowly by it at first, the bluenette sat up awkwardly from where she had fallen asleep the night before. It had been a full evening of shifting furniture from room to room, and picking up scraps of fabric and blueprints which had somehow become tossed asunder over the past months. The plans for Mal’s wedding dress were safely locked away in the official ‘office’ space alongside most of her dress mannequins, sewing machines and fabric rolls. 

Blinking slowly as she yawned; there was more knocking down below her as Evie stood and stretched out her arms. She wasn’t late for school; she had an alarm set. It could be Mal, Carlos or Jay, but none of them ever actually knocked. Fluffing her hair so it fell a bit straighter, Evie pulled at her dress which had yet to be changed. She fell asleep as-is last night, right after all the rooms were officially livable. 

Shuffling down the main hall as the knocking continued, Evie yawned again as she nodded. 

“Yeah! I’m coming, I’m coming!” 

Reaching the door, the bluenette tossed it open ready to berate whoever happened to by this early. Of course, the words died on her lips at the sight of Audrey. She was soaking wet, tapping the end of her boot on the porch with a single pink duffle thrown over her shoulder. She looked haggard and exhausted, but managed a half-hearted smile anyway. 

“I...I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“Audrey, I wasn’t expecting you.” Shaking out of her shocked stupor, Evie took in her appearance and tsked slightly, “please come in and warm up.” 

“Thanks.” Bowing her head a bit as she passed through the door, Evie caught a whiff of pine and morning frost. Had Audrey slept outside? “I went to the school early, only to be told my room was taken over.” Audrey spoke, clearly doing her best not to drip on the hardwood while removing her boots and kicking them onto a mat nearby, “Ben said I would be staying here for the year instead.” 

“It was a bit of a last minute change.” 

Noticing an expression of worry on Audrey’s face, Evie shook her hands, “but don’t worry, it’s not just you. We should be getting the rest of our housemates later once they arrive.” 

“Oh.” 

That was seemingly the only word Audrey had on the matter as Evie exhaled deeply through her nose and folded a hand under her chin. This was going to be a bit harder then she thought with the former princess being less then forthcoming. 

“You’ll be dorming with me this year, I hope at least we make ok roommates.” 

“Don’t you usually room with Mal?” Audrey asked, not out of cruelty but with a bit of steel laced in her tone as Evie nodded and waved for her new roomie to follow. 

“I do usually, but Mal and Ben got permission as a couple to commute to school. They’ll be staying in the palace.” 

“I see. And...fairy godmother approved us living away from campus?” 

“So long as we show up on time,” Evie chuckled, pushing open the door to the room which she had only just abandoned, “here we are, sorry about the mess I fell asleep in the middle of cleaning last night.” 

The room was bigger then the others in the castle, with deep navy colored wallpaper and a fantastic white colored mantle and fireplace. Along with the two beds, there was a small sitting area, perfect for reading, or in Evie’s case, sketching new designs. 

“It’s...this is lovely,” Audrey complemented, tightening a hand on her duffle as Evie eye’d it. 

“Is that all you brought, Audrey?” 

“I decided to travel a bit lighter this year. I’ll do some shopping next week.” The girl answered, tossing said bag on the bed where it bounced and laid to rest, “do you mind if I freshen up a bit? I feel a bit drowned out.” 

Not sure if it was meant to be a sad attempt at humor, Evie merely cracked a smile and nodded, waving her hand to the hall. 

“Across the way. Let me know if you need anything.” 

“I will. If someone else knocks is probably Chad, he ran to get us some breakfast.” 

Watching Audrey disappear into the hall, Evie frowned and sat on the edge of her own bed. She eye’d the single duffle again. Normally, at least what Evie had assumed, was that Audrey carried lots of luggage. Even Ben had mentioned in passing it was practically magic how much stuff she hauled around when she traveled. But one duffle? It didn’t seem like hardly anything. And though it made sense for Audrey to simply go shopping for what she needed, why not just pack what you need in the first place? 

It didn’t make any sense, and Evie didn’t have time to dwell on it as there came more knocking from downstairs. Not even bothering to change yet, the bluenette went to answer the door. As Audrey had expected, Chad had arrived. In his hands was a paper coaster with two grande lattes, and a brown paper bag from the Bookend bakery. He had his own duffle bag over one shoulder, but Evie knew he had more luggage as his baby blue sedan was parked not far away. 

“Hey. Audrey came this way.” He said without a proper greeting, “I brought her breakfast.” 

“So she said. Come in. Living room is that way, kitchen is that way.” 

“Cool, cool.” Striding in easily, Evie was surprised Chad diligently removed his shoes and set them on the mat by Audrey’s. Speak of the devil, the ex-Royal breezed down the stairs as royally as any Princess. 

Evie was gobsmacked at the fact that she was now completely dry. Same clothing she had arrived in, previously dripping; now pristine as though she had only just pulled them out. Even her hair, formerly dark with water, was now fluffed and curled in a fashionable ponytail. 

“Hi Chad.” She greeted gently, stocking feet slipping a bit on the floor. 

“Hey, Princess. I got just what you need right here.” Chad announced, holding out the lattes elegantly as Audrey chuckled. 

“You’re such a goofball. I’ll take these; go drop your stuff so you don’t break anything.” 

Waving a finger up the stairs, Chad nodded and headed up, heeding Evie’s called instructions of his room being the last door on the left. When he was gone, Evie turned back to Audrey who now held the lattes and baked goods. Outwardly she appeared at ease, inhaling the scent of nutmeg and cream. But the tension had yet to leave her shoulders, and the worry lines still creased her brow. 

“Audrey, is everything ok?” 

Evie didn’t know if being forward was the right approach. But Audrey, as she had always been, was an expert at innocent deflection. 

“How do you mean?” 

“You’re just...really tense. You know this is a safe place, right?” 

“Safe...” Audrey mused, shaking her head slowly before snorting, steel walls falling into place around her heart, “I’m fine.” 

Evie watched as the tension seemed to dissipate before her eyes. Shoulders relaxed, emotion smoothed and became blank. The shift was a truly impressive feat, and Evie wouldn’t have known Audrey was worried at all if not for the white knuckled grip still holding the lattes. Turning on a heel, Audrey vanished into the living room as Chad reappeared and followed after her. 

At this same moment, Evie’s phone rang in the kitchen as she picked it up from it’s charger halfway through the second ring. It was a video chat; Mal of course. Answering it, her best friends face appeared. 

“Hey Mal,” Evie greeted with a hand wave, noticing that her dragon friend was already at Auradon Prep, “finishing touches on today’s agenda?” 

“You know it.” Mal scoffed, “I wish Jane were doing this instead of me. It’s so much work.” 

“Well if you’re going to be Queen one day...” 

“Yeah, yeah. I better know how to plan a kickass party. I got it. You look like you did yesterday.” Mal observed, “didn’t sleep?” 

“Oh I did, just didn’t bother to change.” Evie laughed, tucking some hair behind her ear as Chad’s voice wafted from the living room. He was telling a story apparently, one that needed to be twice as loud as usual. 

“Are those voices? I sent Audrey your way. She was here awfully early for some reason.”

“Can you blame her?” Evie mused, “I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a crowd after...you know, everything. Say Mal, do you know if it rained last night?” 

“Rained? I dunno; doesn’t seem like it. It’s dry here. Why do you ask?” 

“Nothing, nothing. Just thought I heard a leak or something last night. Must have been my imagination,” Evie fibbed, trying hard to school her confused features. Audrey had shown up soaking wet; Evie thought she had slept outside. But it hadn’t rained. So why did it look like she got caught in a rainstorm? Shaking away the thoughts, Evie returned to conversation, “I guess I’ll get ready and head over? I’ll make sure Chad and Audrey get back to.” 

“Yeah, Ben really wants to make sure Audrey has eyes on her this year. FG was already hesitant at her admittance. Can you believe Audrey showed up in person to ask to apply for this year? That seems so unlike her,” 

“I guess. But in person is always better then an email.” 

“Yeah...oh, Ben’s calling me. I should probably go. See you in a few?” 

“Yep. Later Mal.” 

Closing out the video call, Evie turned and rested back first against the counter. Audrey applied in person? She easily could have just called the FG, or sent an email like Mal suggested. She wasn’t wrong that making an in person trip to reapply was a little unusual. Then again though, a lot about Audrey was unusual lately. Especially the magical half which Evie had yet to receive any answers about. 

Heading back upstairs to change, Evie stopped outside the doorway to the living room. The conversation had gone hushed. 

“...I don’t know why it happened.” Audrey mumbled, “it just started up again. What if someone finds out Chad? What if someone super important finds out. I could be expelled or...exiled. This...this power, I don’t understand it. But it feels so...” 

“Natural?” 

“It feels like I’m somehow whole again after a whole lifetime of emptiness. But at the same time...I...I know this power isn’t mine. It’s not. It can’t be.” 

“Would you stop worrying? I told you, once school starts I’ll help you find a counter curse or something. No one has to know.” 

“This magic is dangerous, Chad. It’s bad enough that the scepter...nevermind. I don’t want to talk about that.” 

Stiffening up at the mere mention of the scepter, Evie quickly ascended the stairs before either Chad or Audrey heard her eavesdropping. Changing quickly and pulling on her shoes, no heels today, the bluenette let her mind wander. So much about this situation didn’t make any sense. The buzzing of her alarm made her jump. 

She needed to get going.

Grabbing her bag and rushing down the stairs, Chad and Audrey seemed to have the same idea as her. Both were standing outside, Audrey with her eyes closed and taking in the sunlight while Chad was texting. 

“Hey. You better get going if you don’t want to be late.” She announced, waving to the Royal car which Mal had sent to pick her up as usual, “everything alright?” 

“Yep. Just taking in the last moments of summer before we have to go back,” Chad answered for both of them.

“Well alright, see you both at school,” 

Waving a hand, Evie plopped into the back seat. Turning to look out the window, Chad and Audrey had vanished, despite the blue car still being parked. Startled, Evie swore there was a ribbon of pinkish smoke still lingering in the air, but easily could have been her imagination. It was just like the day before, where Audrey had vanished from the ridge. She had magic, that was obvious. But now Evie had a different question. 

Was she using it?


	5. Insight

School was...hectic, to say the least. By the time Evie got there, things were already beginning to rile up. Uma, Gil and Harry were in charge of greeting three full limos of Isle Kids, all buzzing excitedly about finally attending Auradon Prep. The Senior students, all of whom Evie now considered to be family, were rushing around at the direction of the royal couple, finishing off preparations, straightening decorations or just trying hard not to let their own anxieties about the first day show.

Evie hadn't seen Audrey or Chad all morning; not since they left the house. But based on Audrey's attitude about returning, she wouldn't be surprised if the former Princess of Auroria was more reclusive then normal.

"Evie! Over here!"

Glancing up from her tablet at Mal's call, Evie beamed and headed that way. Not wearing heels had been an excellent idea on her part, as she had a feeling she'd be running herself ragged all day trying to get things in order.

"Morning Mal, Ben,"

"Is your place ready to host students?" The young King asked, "just give me the word and I'll get my people over there to start working on meals and housekeeping."

"It's all ready, Ben, don't worry." Evie soothed the boy, patting his leather clad arm as he nodded and walked off to make said phone call. This left Mal and Evie standing on the landing overlooking the main school foyer. Down below, Jane was with Fairy Godmother, passing out class schedules and directing students, "so, how's it going? Any changes?"

Evie didn't have to be specific about her question, as Mal got it just fine and slumped.

"I have no idea what's gotten into me. One day my powers were there, the next they were gone. I feel even emptier then before."

"Are you sick at all?"

"No. It just feels...weirdly calm. You know how stormy my magic can be, E. It's like something in my chest just laid down and died."

Evie cringed at the unusual analogy and Mal laughed at her expression, "sorry, it's just the only way I can really describe it. So what's up with Audrey? She didn't say much when she got here this morning,"

"I'm not sure to be honest," Evie admitted, leaning on the balcony as her fingers tapped a random rhythm on the wood, "I mean, she's still Audrey. She's put together, wears her Princess mask and all that...but..."

"But?" Mal urged, "c'mon, you can tell me, E. It'll stay between us, well...me, you and Ben."

"I dunno Mal, she's just so...subdued. I know she wasn't the best person to be around before, but she was incredible at working a room." Evie sighed and shook her head, "she won't look me in the eye, she doesn't smile unless it's forced, and she's so tense."

"Tense?"

"Yeah, wound up tight like a spring ready to bust. It's horrible Mal, truly. I'm not sure if she even knows she's safe in Auradon. You know she only brought one duffle to my place?"

"One? As in, a large one?"

"No Mal, one regular sized sports duffle. It probably wasn't even her's, now that I'm thinking about it. She probably borrowed it from Chad."

"About that," Mal mused, "are they back together now? Cause you mention him a lot even though you said they were just friends."

"Chad isn't without Audrey, or so I've seen," Evie agreed, "but it's not the same as it was before. This isn't pining; or lovesick or anything like that. It's more like he's just overly protective, like a brother. I'm not sure why; something must've happened over the summer."

Evie knew that last part was a bit of a white lie. After all, Audrey said herself she and Chad had spent the few months of break rebuilding their friendship. Of course Mal didn't need to know that, as it wasn't really Evie's place to tell her.

"Well, the FG is a bit concerned about Audrey's behavior. So her schedule is pretty restricted."

"Yeah?" Evie asked curiously, "what's changed?"

"Mostly just keeping her away from extracurriculars and unnecessary group settings," Mal shrugged, "anywhere where she might go AWOL on us."

"I-I don't think she'd do that," Evie mumbled, "and that seems a bit harsh. Audrey may have been a mean girl, but it was the scepter that whispered such terrible things in her ear."

"E, I know you have a huge heart, but Audrey is still dangerous," Mal insisted, "it may seem like a lot now, but she needs to know that her attitude isn't appreciated anymore."

Evie wanted to argue on Audrey's behalf, she did understand the circumstances. But after spending time with and near Audrey herself, she knew the once fierce Princess was nothing like she had been before. The girl was broken, and it frustrated Evie that no one else could really see it. Or at least...was willing to see it.

"When Audrey came to see you, was there anything off about her?"

Blinking, Mal furrowed her brows and looked at her friend.

"Off?"

"Just anything that jumped out at you as weird,"

"Other then her new dye job, and that fact that she looked totally wiped out, not really," Mal shrugged, "she did seem a bit nervous about something, but she didn't say anything on it."

Glancing up as the bell chimed; Mal sighed heavily and groaned a bit.

"Guess that's our cue. See you later?"

"Yeah," watching Mal walk off, Evie scowled at her ringed knuckles. The classes she did have seemed to drag on and on. Advanced chemistry was a breeze, as was Maths and History of Magic and Curses. Things got a bit interesting in PE. It was the first and only class she and Audrey apparently shared. Most people didn't try very hard, as there wasn't really a good way to do assignments. It was more to just give them some time outside.

Audrey was by herself, running (more like sprinting) around the track. She was quick, faster then Evie expected her to be, and her face was pulled into one of frustration. Standing near the finish line to meet up with her, the girl slowed as she approached, breathing heavily but not even sweating.

"Hey Audrey," Evie greeted her, not failing to notice the stares she was getting from the other students, "everything alright?"

"Fine," Audrey breathed, placing both hands on her hips as she leaned over slightly, "just...blowing off some steam."

"You were running pretty fast. You should've done track,"

"Ha!" The bark of laugher startled Evie a bit. It wasn't a bad sound, as Audrey actually sounded more like herself then she had the past few days, "I'm really not much of a runner, Evie."

"Could've fooled me," Evie shrugged with a smile, noticing how Audrey wearily looked around her.

"I should probably get going," the girl said after a moment, her second of normality seemingly fled, "I'll see you back at your place."

Evie didn't have much time to say anything back as the Princess sprinted towards the locker room and vanished. Frowning after her, Evie pursed her lips. Audrey kept her promise though, and by the time Evie had gotten through the rest of her days classes and guided any of those staying at Casa de la Evie for the year back to the house, she was in their shared room.

Upon entering, Audrey was sitting on her bed with a book. The girl was dressed in oversized tourney sweats and an off the shoulder top. Watching her for a moment, she didn't look to be actually reading, but staring blankly at the page, lost somewhere in her thoughts.

"Hey Audrey," Evie greeted her, dropping her bag with a huff of exhaustion as the ex-Princess looked up, "how was your first day back?"

"Fine," the girl answered, lowering her book slightly though her face betrayed her actual mood. She was clearly upset and stressed, and the rings under her eyes were dark, "yours?"

"Fine. I wish Advanced Chem wasn't so easy," Evie complained, pushing for conversation as she fingered off a shoe, "what are you reading?"

"Oh, uh..." glancing at the book, Audrey furrowed her brows, "Languages of Auradon, Volume 1."

"You like linguistics?" Evie queried, "I didn't know that about you."

"I know a ton of languages already. English, French, Spanish, a touch of modern Latin and then some old Ariendellian," Audrey shrugged, "Lonnie even tried to get me into Mandarin once, but I couldn't keep up," laughing lightly, it was breathy and honest and Evie smiled weakly.

"Are you fluent in all of them?"

"Oh, no, no just enough to get though formal meetings." Audrey admitted, "I'm only fluent in French, and I can read Latin but it's not really spoken anymore."

"Huh, you might have to give Mal lessons. She has enough trouble with English."

Noticing how Audrey stiffened slightly, her fingers tightened around the edges of her book as she exhaled shakily. Sweeping herself forward, Evie gently perched on the end of the girls bed, frowning at her, "are you really ok, Audrey?"

"I..." Audrey looked ready to clam up again, looking anywhere but at Evie.

"Audrey, I know things are hard right now but I'm here to help. Please let me?"

Pursing her pale lips, Audrey exhaled deeply and slumped. She looked small and tired on the bed, her clothing clearly much to large for her. Had she lost weight?

"It was rough," she admitted finally, "I'm used to attention, you know. I've been in the spotlight all my life. But this is...different, somehow," twisting her fingers, Audrey focused entirely on her lap, scowling to herself , "it's fine though, I was expecting it."

"It's not fine," Evie insisted, "you should be given as much of a second chance as anyone to succeed. Jane stole the magic wand from her own mom at the Coronation, Uma nearly sank the Cotillion boat..."

"I'm out of chances, Evie!" Audrey snapped suddenly, startling the bluenette who physically jumped at the volume, "C-can't you see that?"

The words were harsh, barked from a raw throat as Audrey ran a furious, shaking hand over her scalp, "I know what I did, and I didn't regret a single moment of it. People look at me like a monster cause I am one. Ok? You don't have to frost over it. You don't have to pretend to care."

Stepping back as Audrey jerked to her feet, her entire body trembled. The emerald glow in her eyes was ferocious, though the look plastered on her face was pained and scared, "p-please leave me alone. I don't want your pity."

And then she ran off, mumbling to herself about finding Chad as Evie was left in an empty room. Blinking wildly for a moment, Evie's brows furrowed in confusion. The mood shift had been rapid and unexpected; no doubt pent up anger which Audrey managed to hold in over the course of the day. At once Evie began to worry about the consequences of such a tactic, not just for Audrey, but for those around her as well. If she blew up at the wrong person, around people who wanted nothing more then to see her exiled, it would be catastrophic.

"Knock, knock?"

Glancing up from her thoughts, Lonnie poked her head into the room. She looked ready for bed, having arrived a bit earlier. Uma and her crew had crashed the minute they got home, and Jordan had yet to be seen outside the safety of her lamp. Jane had spoken to Evie briefly just after school, but she no doubt was staying late at the castle to help her mom with things for the new semester, "hey, I heard yelling in here. Everything alright?"

"I...I don't know, honestly," Evie admitted, waving for Lonnie to enter, "you and Audrey were friends once, right?"

"Friends is a bit of a stretch," Lonnie shrugged, "I knew it was brave of you to room with her this year. Is she giving you trouble already?"

"Trouble? No, she's been perfectly civil," Evie flopped down to her bed, "not warm and cuddly mind you..."

"Audrey isn't a warm and cuddly person," Lonnie shared, leaning against the bed frame as Evie sat up on an arm, "even before all of...you know, this, happened, she always kept distance between herself and others."

"Even Ben?"

"Especially Ben," Lonnie nodded, "the only person she was ever really comfortable with was Chad. I don't really know why since the guys a prick, but they've known one another forever."

"How does Audrey deal with anger? She's clearly really frustrated about this year, but I dunno how I'm supposed to approach her about it."

"Hm, well...she used to take it out on others. You saw plenty of that with that whole passive-aggressive shtick she was doing with Mal. Trouble with Ben. Blame it on Mal. Trouble with the VK's, Mal's fault. Targeting kept her sane, I guess."

"And now?"

"Well, before she learned how to throw other people under the bus, Audrey usually just kept it to herself. It made her very irritable and hard to be around. Like you were walking on eggshells constantly. I guess she learned how to do that from her Grammy."

Lonnie rolled her eyes, blowing a strand of long black hair away from her face, "Audrey wasn't ever really a touchy feely type of person either way, even when we were all kids. She wasn't affectionate with her family, even when she and Ben were dating it was difficult. She pulled away from him constantly; I guess it hurt him pretty deeply that she wouldn't be more open with him."

Frowning slightly, Evie wasn't sure what to make of that information. Based on what she knew and saw so far with the Aurorian girl, everything Lonnie said made some sense. Audrey and Chad were close — like, 'Mal and Evie' close, and she tended to internalize her feelings when she couldn't or didn't want to direct them at someone or something else. Not being openly affectionate wasn't something Evie was aware of, and a useful insight into the girls character.

"That's really helpful Lonnie," Evie said finally, "I better go find her. We still have a curfew, and I need to apologize."

Nodding, the Princess moved to leave, only to stop and turn back.

"Evie?"

"Yeah?" Glancing up from where she was just kicking her shoes back on, Lonnie had an unusual expression on her face. Evie couldn't place it right away, as it seemed to be a mix of regret and conflict.

"If you're really interested in getting Audrey to open up, she loves horses." fingers tightening around the doorframe, Lonnie smiled crookedly, "take her riding; she'd like that."

"Oh. Thanks Lonnie."

"Sure."

And then the other girl was gone, her door opening and closing further down the hall. Pursing her lips, Evie sighed and shoved on her jacket. Lonnie seemed to have some important insight on Audrey; insight that normally correlated with close friendship. Yet Lonnie insisted 'friendship' was a stretch. Why would she be so attentive to Audrey then, if they were barely friends?

Glancing in the vanity mirror and pulling her hair into a messy ponytail, Evie scowled at herself. She only had a small bit of information, and it wasn't enough to come to any true conclusions. Every good alchemist knew certainty came with data, and Evie didn't have enough of the story yet. Something, some far away idea, was niggling at the back of her mind and it was bugging her. Not just about Audrey and Mal's power switch, or about the girls rapid personality shift after what happened last year. But something else entirely that Evie couldn't pin down, no matter how hard she tried.

Glancing at the sky which was beginning to darken beyond the window, Evie exhaled. She still had some time to find Audrey before the sun went all the way down; maybe then at least she could satisfy her burning need to apologize.


End file.
